Acer’s Chromebook Spin 13 is now available to purchase at Amazon, just in time for the holidays and starting out at just $895. Sold under model number CP713-1WN-53NF, the model in question is just a small step down from the top-tier version of the device. That means that for that price, buyers will get a stylish and durable all-aluminum 2-in-1 convertible Chrome OS laptop that features an 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8250U processor backed up by 8GB LPDDR3 RAM and 128GB of eMMC flash storage. That quad-core CPU has a respectable base clock starting at 3.4 GHz. The 13.5-inch Gorilla Glass-coated multitouch display panel, meanwhile, is set at an aspect ratio of 3:2, with viewing angles at up to 178-degrees and a resolution of 2256 x 1504, giving users an immersive Chrome OS experience. Above the display, Acer has included a 1280 x 720 HD webcam with a wide-angle 88-degree lens and HDR capabilities.
Gorilla Glass also coats the device’s touchpad, set just below a standard backlit keyboard, giving the pad a smooth smartphone-like feel. Users also have the option of using a Wacom-built garaged stylus for precise writing and drawing on the input side. All of that, in addition to the two USB 3.1 Type-C ports – enabling display out, charging, and fast data transfers – and single USB 3.0 Type-A port is powered by a 3-cell 4670mAh battery rated at up to 10-hours. The whole device measures 245.87 x 309.63 x 17mm and tips the scales at 3.5lbs.
Background: Initially announced back in May of this year, the Chromebook Spin 13 currently represents the pinnacle of what the world’s most prolific Chrome OS manufacturer can produce to meet the hefty requirements of business users. However, the model that’s now available, at least to US shoppers on Amazon is not the only variant that was announced or subsequently released by Acer. In fact, the top-end model can also generally be purchased with storage capacities of 32GB or 64GB through the company’s business-oriented retail partners. What’s more, yet another version of the convertible laptop was announced at the same time and later released with double the memory at 16GB of LPDDR3 RAM.
Just below those, with either 32GB or 64GB storage, is a more affordable model that ships with an 8th Gen Intel Core i3 8130U processor instead of the Core i5 found in the version in question. Prior to this device’s introduction, Acer has released dozens of other Chromebooks as well as one Chrome OS tablet dubbed the Acer Chromebook Tab 10. The vast majority of that hardware, however, has fallen squarely into the budget-friendly edge of the Chrome OS spectrum. Primarily, those have been comprised of plastic builds coupled with serviceable but underwhelming specs.
Impact: The appearance of this particular version of Acer’s Chromebook Spin 13 on Amazon doesn’t necessarily mean the other variants will become available there anytime soon. Acer had, as alluded to above, intended this Chrome OS device to be sold for business and enterprise users above all else at launch. However, it is good news as this is almost certainly one of the best, if not the best Chromebook of 2018, easily earning its price tag and then some from a design and performance perspective.
Buy the Acer Chromebook Spin 13
